Impregnated individual paper drinking cup



Feb 26, 1929.

J. D. REIFSNYDER IMPREGNATED INDIVIDUAL PAPER DRINKING CUP Filed Dec. 31, 1921 Patented Feb. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO TULILP CUP CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

IMPREGNATED INDIVIDUAL PAPER DRINKING CUP.

Application filed December 31, 1921. Serial No. 526,259.

The invention relates to an impregnated individual paper drinking cup.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved individual paper cup. More particularly, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a cup impregnated with a Waterproofing material that is not injurious and will not give an appreciable odor or taste when put to the lips, and which will not have an appreciable coating of the indurating material particularly on its outer surface. Another object is to provide a cup especially useful for holding hot liquids.

The invention consists in the novel features of the cup hereinafter described according to the preferred form of the same, and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It has heretofore been the practice to make individual paper drinking cups both with plain and pleated walls, and to coat such cups by dipping them in melted paraflin, but cups thus made have a distinct coating of paraflin on the inner and outer surfaces, including the rim. This paraflin coating is unpleasant both to the touch of the lips and lingers, and is made more so when any warm drink is poured into-the. cup. It may also produce spots on gloves. Furthermore, these paralfiued individual paper cups heretofore made are not suitable for holding hot liquids, since such caps will not hold their form and remain tight with fluids of a temperature of over about Fah. Notwithstanding the decided coating of paraflin, these known cups are not useful for hot drinks, which should be dispensed or poured at a temperature of not much below Fah. or higher so that the fluid will remain sufficiently hot while being drunk.

My improved cup when properly made will withstand liquid at a temperature of about Fah., and it is capable of doing this while being free of any appreciable coating of the impregnating material. This is made possible by the use of a high melting point impregnating material, only a very limited amount of which is applied to the paper cup so that practically all of it is thoroughly absorbed into the pores of the paper. 4

Further objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of cup.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a pleated cup embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same taken on line 29.; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section at the rim taken on line 33 of Fig. 2. Y

The cup 1 shown in the drawings is a pleated cup shown and fully described in United States Letters Patent No. 1,310,698, and is made of a suitable single blank of material so as to provide pleated side walls 2 and a rolled rim 3. Cups'of this-character have three thicknesses of paper at certain portions thereof'as shown in Fig. 3, where the pleats or folds occur.

\Vhile the invention is equally applicable to plain smooth surfaced cups, it is especially :ulvautageous in impregnating pleated cups,

because due to the folds and irregular surfaces, when such cups-are dipped in parafliu in the usual way. i. e., in parafiin having a melting point of about 125 F.., and at a temperature of about 1 they become coated with a very excessive amount of paraffin.

In impregnating the cup according to my preferred process, (not claimed herein) I use a waxy ii'npregnating material having a relati vely high melting point and consisting preferably of a mixture of a vegetable wax with a. high melting point, such as carnauba having a melting point of about Fah. and a high grade paratlin, i. c., one having a melting point of about 14:0 Fall. 1 preferably use about 201%.) by weight of the wax and 80% of paraffin. This waxy mixture has a relatively high melting point of about 160 to 170 Fah.

I heat this mixture up to the relatively high temperature of about 250 Fah., then apply it inliquid form to the cup, preferably only to a portion of the cup, so as not to get an excessive amount of the mixture on the cup, and then while the coating of the mixture on portions of the cup is yet hot, I subjcct the cup to heat so as to cause the impregnat-ing liquid to spread over the whole surface of the cup and impregnate the same. I preferably apply the impregnating liquid to the inside of the cup by pouring it into the cup. sufficient to fill the cup from one-eighth to one-quarter full. then innnediately empty the liquid from the cup while giving the cup a twist of from one-half to a full revolution. This causes the liquid to flow over the inner surface in a spiral-like path from the bottom toward the rim, so as to leave the liquid distributed over only portions of the cup extending from the bottom to the rim. The cup is then passed into an oven kept at a temperature of about 180 to 200 Fah., as a lower limit, to which temperature the cup is subjected for about 45 seconds to a minute. The temperature of the oven should, of course, be kept below that at which discoloringor charring of the cup takes place, this temperature varying with the length of the oven and the time required for the cups to pass through the same. This keeps the liquid thin so that it will readily spread over the entire surface and thoroughly impregnate the shell of the In this manner- I can produce a cup having substantiallyno coating on the outside, a little or none on the inside, and yet having the shell of the cup so thoroughly impregnated with the waterproofing material of relatively high melting point thatit will withstand hot liquids at a temperature of about 170 Fah.

I have found that once an excess of impre nating fluid is applied to the paper shell of t e cup, it is very difficult to drain it off, and if left on it produces the undesirable coating on the surface of the cup. This is probably the reason for the coating found on cups simply dipped in hot paraflin. But by .applying the liquid on only portions of the cup and keeping the liquid hot, the uncoated part of the paper cup shell will absorb and take up substantially all of the liquid on the coated portions of the cup so that the liquid will spreadall over and thoroughly impregnate the shell to such an extent as to leave substantially no excess of the impregnating solution onthe surface of the cup. I have found that when this process is properly carried out and where a proper waxy material with a relatively high melting point such as that described, is used, the cup is so thoroughly impregnated that it will hold liquids at a temperature of about 170 Fah. and yet the surface of the cup is substantiall free of any surface coating so that the cup 1s dry and clean to the touch rather than having an oily waxy feel; and the outer surface, even when scraped with a sharp edge, shows no coating. The cup is of a pleasing white uniform color,

- slightly translucent, and is, by the impregnation, rendered stiffer and firmer than it would otherwise be, and this without having the pleats gummed together by the impregnating material, as has been the practice.

Vhile I have described the preferred form of cup, it will be understood by those skilled in the art. after understanding my invention, that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, and I aim. in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as come within the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. As an article of manufacture, a paper drinking cup impregnated with a waterproofing material of sufiicicntly high melting point to enable the cup to be used to serve liquid at at least about 150 Fair, and having no visible coating of said material on the outer surface of the side walls, said cup being substantially odorless and tasteless when put to the lips. Y

2. As an article of manufacture, a paper drinking cup formed of a single substantially circular blank of relatively thin paper and having side wall parts of alternate single and multiple thickness impregnated with a waterproofing material of sutficiently high melting point to enable the cup to be used to dispense liquid at at least about 150 Fah., said .cup being substantially odorless and tasteless when put to the lips, and having substantially no coating of said material on the outer surface of the side walls.

3. As an article of manufacture, a paper drinking cup formed of a single substantially circular blank of relatively thin paper and having side wall parts of alternate single and multiple thickness-impregnated with a. waterproofing material having a relativel high melting point, the cup being substantia ly odorless and tasteless when put to the lips, and capable of holding hot liquids at a temperature of at least 150 Fah.

4. As an article of manufacture, a paper drinking cup havingbottom and side walls formed of a single piece of paper, thoroughly impregnated with a wax-like waterproofing material of relatively high melting point rendering the cup relatively stiff and firm and water-tight with hot liquids, but having the outer surface of the side walls substantially 11 free from coating and dry and clean to the touch as distinguished from having an oily wax-y feel.

5'. As an article of manufacture, a paper drinking on thoroughly impregnated with a mixture 0 paraffin and carnauba wax, the latter being present in proportion sufficient to materially raise the melting point of the mixture.

6. As an article of manufacture, a paper 1 drinking cup thoroughly impregnated with a mixture of paraffin and another impregnating material having a melting point considerably higher than that of the paraffin, said material being more than 10% of the mixture by weight, said cup being substan {:ially odorless and tasteless when put to the ips.

7. As an article of manufacture, a paper drinking cup thoroughly impregnated with ing the clip relatively stifi and firm and water-tight when holding hot liquids, said cup having no substantial coating on its inner surface, and no visible coating on its outer surface, and being substantially odorless and tasteless when put to the lips, when used for holding either cold or hot liquids.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 30th day of December, A. D. 1921.

JAMES D. REIFSNYDER. 

